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R. J. Orth, M. C. Harwell and G. J. Inglis
Table 2. Dispersal distances, buoyancy, and fall velocities of seagrass propagules.
Dispersal
Buoyancy
Fall velocity Distance
Species
Location
unit
time
(cm s
−1
)
(km)
Source
Thalassia testudinum Laguna Madre, Texas, USA
Floating fruit
1–10 days
N/A
<1–15
Kaldy and Dunton (1999)
Zostera marina
Chesapeake Bay, USA
Floating reproductive shoot
14 days
N/A
0.7–108.6
Harwell and Orth (2002a)
Zostera marina
Chesapeake Bay, USA
Seeds on sediment surface
N/A
5.96
± 1.14
0.014
Orth et al. (1994)
Zostera marina
San Juan Island, Wasington, USA Seeds on sediment surface
N/A
nd
Mean of 0.00127,
Ruckelshaus (1996)
max. distance
<0.05
Zostera marina
northern Wadden Sea,
Floating reproductive shoot
nd
nd
33–54
Reusch (2002)
southwestern Baltic Sea
Posidonia coriacea
Perth, Western Australia
Seeds
N/A
17.1
± 2.34
nd
Orth (1999)
Thalassia testudinum Laguna Madre, Texas, USA
Floating seeds
<1–3 days nd
0.06–3
Kaldy and Dunton (1999)
Zostera marina
New York, USA
Floating seed with air bubble
≥ 40 min
nd
0.001–>0.2
Churchill et al. (1985)
Enhalus acoroides
Bolinao reef system, Philippines
Floating seeds
14 h
10.0
± 0.1
3.7
Lacap et al. (2002)
Thalassia hemprichii Bolinao reef system, Philippines
Floating seeds
3.5 h
10.0
± 0.2
18.2
Lacap et al. (2002)
Enhalus acoroides
Bolinao reef system, Philippines
Floating fruits
10.2 days
N/A
63.5 (estimated 400 km Lacap et al. (2002)
during typhoons)
Thalassia hemprichii Bolinao reef system, Philippines
Floating fruits
7.2 days
N/A
73.5 (estimated 300 km Lacap et al. (2002)
during typhoons)
Enhalus acoroides
Bolinao reef system, Philippines
Seeds on sediment surface
N/A
10.0
± 0.1
0.2
Lacap et al. (2002)
Thalassia hemprichii Bolinao reef system, Philippines
Seeds on sediment surface
N/A
10.0
± 0.2
<0.1
Lacap et al. (2002)